joshuabardwell
Elite Member
Not that there haven't been threads on this before, but I did my 50 hour service today. It was mostly uneventful. One challenge was finding somewhere to put the 8 gallons of used hydraulic oil until I was able to pour the new oil in. My oil drain pan only holds four gallons. Another challenge was getting the under-seat hydraulic filter off. I don't have a filter wrench. I just used a big pipe wrench on the other filters, but there was no way to get a grip on the under-seat filter with it. I ended up punching through it with a screwdriver and a hammer and taking it off that way. Maybe I'll get a filter wrench before the next time I do the change. With the next change coming at 400 hours, I've got time to think it over.
The service included changing the hydraulic oil and both filters, changing the engine oil and filter, and changing the front diff oil. Also little things like checking the clutch pedal travel and brake travel. I'm tempted to cut open the hydraulic filters and see what the swarf looks like, after that one thread where the... I think it was a Kubota... had that gob-loads of metal filings.
At the moment, the entire service is done. I am not 100% sure that I don't have a tiny leak coming from one of my hydraulic filters. It's hard to tell if it's a leak, or if it's just a bit of oil that got spilled during the change. I'll keep an eye on the filters and the level in the reservoir for the next few hours of use. That stuff is too expensive to let it leak out on the ground!
I would say that if you are on the fence as to whether to do your 50 hour service yourself or take it to the dealer, don't hesitate to do it yourself. It's really about as simple as simple can be--just removing a bunch of drain plugs, unscrewing some filters, and pouring new fluid in. My dealer wanted to charge me about $250 for this service, which, at their labor rates may be a fair price, but it's not like this is rebuilding an engine or some other job that really requires advanced mechanical skill.
My only advice to the neophyte would be to be very, very careful when replacing drain plugs. It is easy to cross-thread them or to over-tighten them, and once you strip out that housing, you are in a world of trouble. Not un-solvable trouble, but let's just say it'd be better if you didn't. I always start the plugs in gently by hand and then continue to screw the plug in by hand until it is almost all the way down. Sometimes cross-threading isn't obvious until a turn or two in. If there is any resistance, I back out and take another run at it. Once the plug is as far in by hand as I can get it, I use a ratchet or wrench to firmly seat it--but don't overdo it! It doesn't need to be gorilla tight. I use my smallest wrench or ratchet and choke way up on it to try to avoid giving myself too much leverage.
Also, when you take the drain plugs out, they may be in there tighter than you expect, and you may have to give them a little oomph to break them loose. When you do this, make sure you are turning the right way. I know this sounds dumb, but sometimes when I'm working on a bolt that's upside down, I get dyslexic in my head about which way to turn it. If you pull as hard as you can trying to loosen the bolt, and you're really tightening it, you can absolutely strip out these threads by hand, especially if you're using a hoss big wrench.
Last thing: nitrile or latex gloves. I know that Real Men just get oil all over their hands, but when it came time to run in the house for something or check my manual for the exact location of a drain plug, the ability to just strip off the gloves and instantly have clean hands was appreciated.
The service included changing the hydraulic oil and both filters, changing the engine oil and filter, and changing the front diff oil. Also little things like checking the clutch pedal travel and brake travel. I'm tempted to cut open the hydraulic filters and see what the swarf looks like, after that one thread where the... I think it was a Kubota... had that gob-loads of metal filings.
At the moment, the entire service is done. I am not 100% sure that I don't have a tiny leak coming from one of my hydraulic filters. It's hard to tell if it's a leak, or if it's just a bit of oil that got spilled during the change. I'll keep an eye on the filters and the level in the reservoir for the next few hours of use. That stuff is too expensive to let it leak out on the ground!
I would say that if you are on the fence as to whether to do your 50 hour service yourself or take it to the dealer, don't hesitate to do it yourself. It's really about as simple as simple can be--just removing a bunch of drain plugs, unscrewing some filters, and pouring new fluid in. My dealer wanted to charge me about $250 for this service, which, at their labor rates may be a fair price, but it's not like this is rebuilding an engine or some other job that really requires advanced mechanical skill.
My only advice to the neophyte would be to be very, very careful when replacing drain plugs. It is easy to cross-thread them or to over-tighten them, and once you strip out that housing, you are in a world of trouble. Not un-solvable trouble, but let's just say it'd be better if you didn't. I always start the plugs in gently by hand and then continue to screw the plug in by hand until it is almost all the way down. Sometimes cross-threading isn't obvious until a turn or two in. If there is any resistance, I back out and take another run at it. Once the plug is as far in by hand as I can get it, I use a ratchet or wrench to firmly seat it--but don't overdo it! It doesn't need to be gorilla tight. I use my smallest wrench or ratchet and choke way up on it to try to avoid giving myself too much leverage.
Also, when you take the drain plugs out, they may be in there tighter than you expect, and you may have to give them a little oomph to break them loose. When you do this, make sure you are turning the right way. I know this sounds dumb, but sometimes when I'm working on a bolt that's upside down, I get dyslexic in my head about which way to turn it. If you pull as hard as you can trying to loosen the bolt, and you're really tightening it, you can absolutely strip out these threads by hand, especially if you're using a hoss big wrench.
Last thing: nitrile or latex gloves. I know that Real Men just get oil all over their hands, but when it came time to run in the house for something or check my manual for the exact location of a drain plug, the ability to just strip off the gloves and instantly have clean hands was appreciated.